Helping to reduce poverty and improve social justice

Issue

Poverty, as measured by a household’s income relative to the national average, is often a symptom of deeper, more complex problems. Many of these problems are passed on from one generation to the next.

For example, there are almost 300,000 households in the UK where none of the adults has ever worked, and 300,000 children have parents with serious drug problems. Children in families affected by these problems have reduced chances of success in their own lives.

We want to make a real and lasting difference, to help people change the course of their lives. To do this, we need to deal with the problems that cause people to end up living in poverty, rather than dealing with people’s incomes in isolation.

Actions

On 13 March 2012 we published ‘Social justice: transforming lives’. It explains the government’s plans for giving individuals and families facing multiple disadvantages the support and tools they need to turn their lives around.

We published the ‘Social justice outcomes framework’ on 31 October 2012. It explains what the government wants to achieve and how we will measure success.

On 24 April 2013 we published Social justice: transforming lives – one year on. This progress report looks at how social justice principles influence service delivery at national and local level, in government and across the private and voluntary sectors.

Our strategy includes action to:

help troubled families turn their lives around improve mental health reduce child poverty and make sure that children are properly supported so that they complete their education make work pay, and help people to find and stay in work help people recover and become independent if things have gone wrong work with the voluntary, public and private sectors to deal more effectively with complex problems

Helping troubled families turn their lives around

The government is working with local authorities and their partners to help 120,000 troubled families in England turn their lives around by 2015 – our policy on helping troubled families turn their lives around explains this work in more detail.

In March 2013 we announced that 150 specialist Jobcentre Plus advisers will work with troubled families. The advisers will work with existing teams in councils to support troubled families and track their progress into work.

Improving mental health

The government’s mental health policy concentrates on outcomes - what actually happens to the health of the patient as a result of the treatment and care they receive.

Reducing child poverty

Helping children overcome poverty will make a huge difference not only to their lives but to the lives of their families, communities and to society as a whole. We are committed to ending child poverty in the UK by 2020.

On 5 April 2011, we published the UK’s first national child poverty strategy, which set out the actions we would take between 2011 and 2014 to meet our aim.

After consulting on the draft strategy for the period between 2014 and 2017, we published the UK’s second national strategy for reducing child poverty on 26 June 2014.

Improving social mobility

The government wants to create a socially mobile society so that no one is stopped from achieving their potential.

Making work pay

Work for those who can is the most sustainable route out of poverty.

Increasing the participation of 16 to 24 year olds in learning and employment not only makes a lasting difference to their individual lives, but is central to the government’s ambitions to improve social mobility and stimulate economic growth.

We are combining in- and out-of-work benefits within the new Universal Credit. This will make the transition from benefits to work significantly easier. Universal Credit will dramatically simplify the process of applying for different benefits as people move in and out of work or between jobs, which will eliminate the insecurity caused by gaps in income. Because the system will be simpler, it will also be much easier for people to understand how much better off they would be if they were to move into work.

Helping people recover from drugs problems and become independent if things have gone wrong

The government intends to restrict the supply of illicit drugs, introduce a system of temporary bans on so called ‘legal highs’ and to promote recovery of drug users within their communities. Our drugs policy sets out how we will do this.

The ministerial working group on homelessness and ending rough sleeping brings together 8 government departments to deal with the complex causes of homelessness – not only housing, but just as importantly health, work and training.

The government outlined its proposals for how to better ensure offenders pay for their crimes and, just as importantly, don’t go on to commit any more in their response to the ‘Breaking the cycle: effective punishment, rehabilitation and sentencing of offenders consultation’ in July 2011. For more information, see our policy on reducing reoffending.

Working with the voluntary, public and private sectors to achieve change

We recognise that the most effective solutions will often be managed locally. The government is working with local authorities and other public sector organisations to help them share information securely. This will help to improve services by offering guidance and examples of best practice.

The government will encourage:

service providers to be innovative by specifying outcomes and paying for effective results local agencies, services and service users to work together on services that take local needs into account through projects like Community Budgets the social investment market and philanthropy to expand

Background

In the coalition agreement we said we will maintain the goal of ending child poverty in the UK by 2020.The government believes that the focus on income over recent decades has ignored the root causes of poverty, and in doing so has allowed social problems to deepen and become entrenched.

The government’s new approach to reducing poverty in all its forms is not about income poverty alone. ‘Social justice: transforming lives’ explains the government’s plans for giving individuals and families facing multiple disadvantages the support and tools they need to turn their lives around.

Welfare reform communications toolkit

Our welfare reform communications toolkit helps explain how DWP is changing the welfare system. It covers:

what we are changing why we are making the changes when we are making the changes

Who we’re consulting

We ran the ‘Consultation on measuring child poverty’ between 15 November 2012 and 15 February 2013. We sought views on changing the way we measure child poverty to make sure we can get accurate data about how many children in the UK are affected. We published our response to this consultation on 27 February 2014 on annex E of our consultation on the draft child poverty strategy.

From 27 February to 22 May 2014, we consulted on the UK’s national strategy for reducing child poverty for the period between 2014 and 2017. We published the national strategy on 26 June 2014, and included our response to this consultation in annex E.

On 26 June 2014 we launched a consultation on our target to reduce persistent child poverty, in compliance with the Child Poverty Act 2010. The consultation will run until 14 August 2014.

Who we’re working with

Social justice requires new and imaginative approaches to designing and funding services, and close partnership between the private, public and charitable sectors. We are therefore working with:

national and local government the voluntary and community sector mutuals and private companies investors and philanthropists

Share your examples with us

We’ve published a series of case studies and invited organisations to tell us about other examples of social justice in action.

If you have a story you’d like to share or if you want to be involved, please email us at dwp.socialjustice@dwp.gsi.gov.uk.

Join the social justice group on LinkedIn to share learning and good practice.

@socjusticegov – follow DWP Social Justice on Twitter.

Multi-Agency Information Sharing Hub (MASH) in Leicestershire

Find out how the Multi-Agency Information Sharing Hub (MASH) in Leicestershire is making it easier for people working with families to share information and coordinate their activities.

OnePlusOne – Getting it right for children

‘Getting it right for children’ is an innovative online programme from The Parent Connection, specifically designed by OnePlusOne to deal with potential problems children face when their parents separate. They have developed this evidence-based resource to help people break cycles of negative behaviour and do things differently.

Create – creating jobs and hope

Create’s innovative work-based mentoring programme is creating jobs and hope for those who need it most. Read Adi’s story – how he went from being a ‘whizz’ at school to a life of drugs and prison and how Create is helping him feel alive again.

ESC – empowering prisoners to change lives

Find out how Belfast film company ESC empowers prisoners to turn their back on crime, transform their lives and become active citizens.

Case studies

Beverley and Steve – Now our children will be better adults

How Family Links helped a family with 4 children whose behaviour was out of control, understand and manage their feelings and behaviour.

John – I’ve got a chance to be something better

How Ex-Cell helped someone who lived a life of crime for 14 years become Director of Recycle-IT, a successful cooperative.

Sarah – I've got everything I've ever wanted

How the Timpson Foundation helped a prisoner get a job and accommodation and rebuild relationships.

Multisystemic Therapy case study

How the Brandon Centre uses Multisystemic Therapy with young people and their families to reduce re-offending and antisocial behaviour.

Lee – I’m staying out of trouble and I’m in the best position I’ve ever been in

How a Multiple Needs Coordinator helped a young person who was in and out of care, used drugs and got arrested regularly.

Bobbie – I want to share my experiences and give women the same hope that was given to me

How Ex-Cell helped a prisoner with accommodation, finding a job and rebuilding family relationships.

Rob – The LIFE Programme saved my family

How the LIFE Programme, funded by the Community Budget, helped a family with multiple problems after other interventions failed to work.

Debrina and Lavve – I'm so happy. I've got my son back

How a mentor from Chance UK, an early intervention charity, helped a mother and her son deal with his disruptive behaviour.

Sparky – I'm proof Recycling Lives works

How Recycling Lives, a charity working with vulnerable and marginalised people, helped a homeless ex-prisoner find accommodation and work.

Barry – I needed self-worth, not methadone

How BAC O'Connor’s evidence-based programme turned a drug abuser who’d spent 17 years in and out of prison into a Recovery Champion.

Allison – I couldn't save a penny before. Now I might have a holiday next year

How the Five Lamps, a charity providing social, economic and financial inclusion services, helped someone struggling with debt.

Anne – They valued me before they even knew me

How St Wilfrid's Centre helped a rape victim build up her self-confidence and self-worth.

Darren – With support you can change your life

How St Wilfrid's Centre helped an alcoholic to recover and set up a support group for people suffering from mental health issues.

St Wilfrid’s Centre – we help people realise their value as a person

How St Wilfrid's Centre brings together the homeless, vulnerable and socially excluded and helps them towards a better future.

Shaun – Without St Wilfrid’s Centre I wouldn’t be alive today

How a vulnerable adult found security and independence with help from St Wilfrid’s Centre.

Stephen – Without Shekinah I’d be in jail or out shoplifting

How Shekinah helped Stephen get a job and his life back after being released from prison.

James – I'm very hopeful of finding work after I leave prison

How the Prisons Information Computer Technology Academy gave James the chance to gain qualifications, experience and help fight his depression.

Tony – Finally I can look in the mirror and feel proud of myself

How together, the Integrated Offender Management scheme and the Right Stuff boxing project helped prevent Tony from re-offending.

Shelley: I felt like a person again, I felt like I was part of society

The Inclusions Drugs Services and Booth House, run by the Salvation Army, helped Shelly get off drugs and in to her own home and employment.

Tina: Without this support I'd still be on drugs

Gemma Sanders, an Employment and Skills Key Worker funded by JCP at Melton Borough Council helped Tina stay off drugs and secure employment.

Making a difference to the lives of young people in Haringey

Education 2Day is an education and training provider improving the lives of young people in Haringey, North London.

Danny - I’m on a mission to help as many people as possible

The Acknowledging Youths community project was set up to raise the aspirations of unemployed young people in London and help them find work.

Adam - I knew I had to get out before it was too late

Darrin from Think Forward, an initiative commissioned by the DWP’s Innovation Fund, helped Adam get out of a gang and back in to school.

Hayley – I didn’t have the confidence to put myself forward

Aspire Sussex and other Community Learning Trusts provide learning provision that is tailored to the needs of local communities.

Jamie – I felt like I was getting swallowed up by the system

B4Box is a social venture construction company that provides long-term employment to people who have been unemployed for more than a year.

Becky – When I first met Anita her confidence was wrecked

How Jobcentre Plus can help victims of domestic violence turn their lives around.

Deborah: My only regret is that I didn’t do this 10 years ago.

How support from the Single Parent Action Network to help Deborah in her relationship with her son proved to be life changing.

Stephen: Most of the time we were stuck inside the house.

How George, who represents DWP in the Family and Parenting Team of Southampton City Council, helped Stephen with employment and benefit issues.

Carl: We’ve had a massive impact on the community

Carl from the Sheffield Alcohol Support Service talks about how he helps people with alcohol and drug related problems overcome their addictions.

Mary: We all need to make the community we live in better

How Mary from Jobcentre Plus applies the DWP Social Justice principles when helping ex-offenders.

Jennifer: Providing support for people who need it is morally the right thing to do

DWP Visiting Officer Jennifer talks about the Social Justice principles and working in partnership with the Cardinal Hume Centre.

Sharon: I’d wake up in a cell not knowing what I’d done

The DWP’s Work Programme and Blue Sky, who focus on the employment of ex-offenders, helped Sharon into work which changed her life around.

Tom: Being coached by professional boxers really inspired me

Coldwell Boxing and Life Skills deliver training and qualifications to disadvantaged young people and helped turn Tom’s life around.

Jerell: Without the Jobcentre's support I think I’d be back in jail

Outreach advisers Rikki and Bola from Tottenham JCP support ex-gang members, helping them turn their lives around and find employment.

Jackie: I arrange volunteering opportunities that support social justice

Jackie from Jobcentre Plus Newcastle arranges volunteering opportunities for DWP staff that support social justice.

Jill: I’m leading on trying to end gang violence in Liverpool

Business Development Manager Jill works with disengaged youngsters to help them achieve more sustainable outcomes in their lives.

Jill: I’m leading on trying to end gang violence in Liverpool

How Jill, a Jobcentre Plus Business Development Manager, works with disengaged youngsters to help them achieve more sustainable outcomes in their lives.

Birt: We've created over 43,000 sporting opportunities for people

Barnet Football Club's Community Trust charity and Jobcentre Plus are working together to create employment opportunities for young unemployed people in the local community.

Emilyn – If I hadn't come to Centrepoint, I probably wouldn’t even be alive today

How Centrepoint provided accommodation and support to a homeless young person so she could live independently.

Steve: He had made a mistake and needed another chance

Working in partnership with external providers, Jobcentre Plus found employment for Steve on his release from prison.

Marvin: He was fighting back tears for fear of other prisoners seeing

Even though Marvin had a criminal record, he still managed to find employment with support from Jobcentre Plus.

Kate: I’m off the alcoholic programme and able to help others in the same position I was in

How Jobcentre Plus and the Westminster Drug Project working in partnership helped Kate get her life back on track.

Liz: This gives me a great chance to get into teaching and take control of my life

How Liz overcame her low self-esteem to get a teaching job and is now helping another family grow closer and develop their skills together.

Help for young people through volunteering: an ESF project in Sheffield

How volunteering with personalised support helped young people in Sheffield gain qualifications, go to college or find an apprenticeship.

Matchfit skills competitions: an ESF project in West Yorkshire

How a programme promoting competitions helps young people develop and showcase their skills with support from the European Social Fund.

new futures: an ESF project for ex-offenders

How the European Social Fund helps ex-offenders get qualifications and employment in south west England.

Supporting families with multiple problems: an ESF project in Widnes

How ESF support for families with multiple problems helps them into education, training and work.

Raising Aspirations project: an ESF project in Cornwall

How education and training helps low-skilled people improve their career prospects and benefit their employer.

Helping prisoners find work and reducing re-offending: Bad Boys’ Bakery

How working in a bakery is helping prisoners find work on release and reducing their re-offending.

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